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Original perspectives and fresh thinking on issues of concern to Asia from around the region, plus editorials and letters to the editor. Please contact us if you would like to submit a letter to be considered for publication.

An employee inspects a printed circuit board at a production facility of automated test equipment designer Aemulus Holdings in Penang, Malaysia.

W.C. Koh, M.M. Hinojales, and H. Zhao

Time is ripe for Malaysia to move upstream into designing chips

Penang can build on success in downstream areas of semiconductor production

W.C. Koh, M.M. Hinojales, and H. Zhao

From left: South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris at the ASEAN summit in Jakarta in 2023. (Pool via Reuters)

Saurabh Todi

India-U.S.-South Korea tech cooperation has strategic logic

By capitalizing on competitive advantages, trio can strengthen supply chains

Saurabh Todi

U.S. President Joe Biden, left, meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv on Oct. 18, 2023. Pressure from the U.S. is indispensable to ending the Gaza conflict.

Nikkei Editorial

International community must make every effort to end Gaza fighting

Israel will face greater isolation if it ignores global consensus on cease-fire

Nikkei Editorial

U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell in Washington on March 20: Some observers now expect the Fed to stand pat on rates this year.

U.S. rate cut doubts are a headache for Asian central banks

Preempting the Fed would bring depreciation pressure and drive outflows

Laem Chabang port in 2020: Thailand has been slow to adjust to the changing nature of globalization. (Photo by Akira Kodaka)

Pavida Pananond

To revive investor interest, Thailand needs more than salesmanship

Structural reform needed to make country competitive with neighbors

Pavida Pananond

Sergei Roldugin, right, artistic director of St. Petersburg Music House, is a close friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin and godfather of one of his daughters. (Pool via Reuters)

James D.J. Brown

Japan should not showcase Putin's propagandists

For the Russian government, official cultural events are a political weapon

James D.J. Brown

Indonesian President-elect Prabowo Subianto, left, meets Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Apr. 1: Not raising territorial issues could potentially embolden China. (China Daily via Reuters)

Mangantar Simon Hutagalung

Prabowo's China policy dilemma evident in Beijing trip

Next Indonesian leader focused on security but keen for development support

Mangantar Simon Hutagalung

Natural gas demand in Asia over the next 30 years is likely to be much higher than implied by the projections the U.S. used to justify its export pause.

Paul Everingham

Biden's LNG export pause will hobble Asia's energy plans

Region needs U.S. gas to displace coal and reduce emissions

Paul Everingham

Dumplings made with Meatable's cultivated pork: The Netherlands-based startup decided to apply for sale approval for its products in Singapore rather than the EU. (Meatable)

Ryan Huling

Asia's embrace of cultivated meat will bring industry leadership

Amid regulatory uncertainty at home, Western startups focus sales on region

Ryan Huling

U.S. President Joe Biden, left, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at a news conference during their trilateral summit at Camp David with South Korea in August 2023.

Ami Bera

U.S.-Japan-Philippine summit will advance shared Indo-Pacific vision

PM Kishida's Washington trip to showcase Tokyo's commitment to enhanced security

Ami Bera

Chinese tech giant Tencent has taken dozens of former employees to court over the past few years regarding what it perceives to be broken noncompete agreements.

SHIN NAKAYAMA

Letter from Nikkei Asia's editor: China's tech trap

Shin Nakayama shares his weekly reflections and recommendations

SHIN NAKAYAMA

Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, left, and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese: The two countries plan to build a Green and Digital Shipping Corridor.

Syed Munir Khasru

ASEAN and Australia are facing up to need for green cooperation

Current fossil fuel-focused trade ties will have to evolve

Syed Munir Khasru

Reserve Bank of India Gov. Shaktikanta Das in Mumbai in 2022: India now has around $600 billion in foreign reserves banked to cushion against any shocks.

Henny Sender

Reserve Bank of India deserves share of credit for economic stability

Country has come long way since it was a 'fragile five' emerging market

Henny Sender

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, right, with Russian President Vladimir Putin in September at the Vostochny Cosmodrome. (KCNA via Reuters)

Derek Grossman

Putin's embrace of Kim Jong Un has its limits

Upcoming trip will underscore deepening ties, but Russia remains cautious

Derek Grossman

A checkpoint attacked by insurgents in Pattani province in 2019: The cycle of violence enmeshing the military and insurgents in southern Thailand has claimed more than 7,300 lives.

Daungyewa Utarasint

Talks alone will not bring lasting peace to Thailand's deep south

To prove his intentions, Srettha must rein in legal cases against peaceful activists

Daungyewa Utarasint

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland is pictured at a March 21 news conference in Washington in which he accused Apple of engineering an illegal monopoly in smartphones.

Nikkei Editorial

Apple case highlights difficulty of regulating IT giants

Adequacy of existing antitrust laws tested in rapidly changing digital era

Nikkei Editorial

Shares of South Korean companies have traded at a discounted valuation to those of regional peers for decades.

Peter S. Kim

Seoul is finally getting serious about ending the 'Korea discount'

Momentum behind push for corporate governance reform can carry past election

Peter S. Kim

Donald Trump, left, with Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2019: Trump is likely to be even more confrontational should he win back the U.S. presidency in November.

New Trump term would mean more risk, opportunity in China ties

With focus on deals, breakthroughs with North Korea and Iran may be possible

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, left, looks on as Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi signs the visitors' book at Parliament House in Canberra in March. (AAP Image via Reuters)

Ben Scott

Australia's China policy more effective with disciplined messaging

Canberra needs to strategize use of spectrum of information capabilities

Ben Scott

$Lan Tay gas platform in the South China Sea off the coast of Vung Tau, Vietnam in 2018: Only a fraction of the oil and gas reserves in the South China Sea has been located so far.$

South China Sea cooperation better for China than conflict

Joint development of oil and gas fields can be made to work

The problems facing global trade were on full display at the WTO Ministerial Conference that concluded in Abu Dhabi last month.

Zafrul Aziz

It's up to the developed world to save global trade

West must recognize that WTO rules have to be equitable and inclusive

Zafrul Aziz

K-pop group Twice performs in New York in 2023: Female performers have captivated global audiences but South Korea still lags badly in gender equality. (Sipa via AP Images)

Soohyung Lee

Educational rebalance could get more South Korean women working

With info lacking and colleges inflexible, girls are missing out on STEM studies

Soohyung Lee

BOJ Gov. Kazuo Ueda takes questions from reporters following the central bank's announcement that it would end its 17-year-long policy of negative rates on March 19. (Photo by Mayumi Tsumita)

SHIN NAKAYAMA

Letter from Nikkei Asia's editor: Japan's tale of two economies

Shin Nakayama shares his weekly reflections and recommendations

SHIN NAKAYAMA

Fans pose outside Taylor Swift's concert venue in Singapore on Mar. 2: Event tourism has taken on more significance after the enforced isolation of the COVID era.

Gary Ng

Singapore's Taylor Swift jackpot about more than exclusivity

With planning, city-state has assembled compelling package for event organizers

Gary Ng

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, right, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida signed a deal for joint cooperation on rare-earth metals and green hydrogen. (Handout via Reuters)

Greg Guyett

Asia-Pacific's Gulf links on course to expand despite Red Sea troubles

Momentum behind new trade and investment flows too strong to be derailed

Greg Guyett